Tories vow to end Big State Britain: Shadow chancellor condemns Burnham’s ‘1970s socialist fever dream’ as he unveils plans to slash Net Zero, axe quangos and simplify tax

DAILYMAIL.COM • 7h ago

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR 08:07 05 Oct 2026, updated 08:24 05 Oct 2026

The Tories will declare war on Britain’s big state today with vows to slash Net Zero, axe quangos and simplify tax.

Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith is unveiling ‘the biggest deregulation project in a generation’ to kickstart the sluggish economy and cut prices.

The bold Thatcherite platform is being billed as the answer to Andy Burnham’s ‘socialist fever dream of the 1970s’.

Kemi Badenoch has warned Tories at their conference in Birmingham that they must be ready for the PM to trigger a snap election.

She is trying to build on a fledgling revival for the party, with Reform seemingly struggling to maintain momentum.

Mrs Badenoch has promised to emulate 1980s Conservative doyenne Margaret Thatcher by returning to government on right-wing principles – saying the lack of a fundamental world-view has meant Britain being buffeted by events.

In his address to the party later, Mr Griffith will argue that cutting red tape and environmental rules could cut the price of a new house by up to £50,000.

The proposals include abolishing the Environment Agency and Natural England to help streamline regulations acting as ‘a drag anchor on our economy’.

Labour’s new ‘grocery tax’ on packaging would also be ditched, removing a £1.5billion levy on business and consumers.

The Conservatives will also formally throw their weight behind plans for a third runway at Heathrow, which have been cast into doubt yet again after Mr Burnham defied his own Chancellor by refusing to back them.

‘These are serious proposals to get our country moving, growing again,’ Mr Griffith told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Mr Griffith will tell party activists: ‘No one else is coming to save our economy.

‘Only we can inject reality, tell the hard truths and make this a country we are proud to hand on to the next generation.

‘Our task just got bigger. We face a Prime Minister that wants to return Britain to an imagined past.

‘A socialist fever dream of the 1970s. Cheaper homes, lower taxes, and less red tape. This will be the most ambitious deregulation project in a generation.’

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